Matthew 12

The Lord of the Sabbath

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.a ²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” ³Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?b

⁴He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests. ⁵Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent?c ⁶But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.

⁷If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.d ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”e

Healing on the Sabbath

⁹Moving on from there, Jesus entered their synagogue, ¹⁰and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” ¹¹He replied, “If one of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

¹²How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

The chosen servant

¹⁵Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, ¹⁶warning them not to make Him known. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:f ¹⁸“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.g

¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. ²⁰A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.h ²¹In His name the nations will put their hope.”

A house divided

²²Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see. ²³The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.” ²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.i

²⁶If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.j

²⁹Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.k ³⁰He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.l

The sin against the Spirit

³¹Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.m ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.

The tree and its fruit

³³Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.n ³⁴You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.o ³⁵The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.p

³⁶But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.q ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”r

The sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”s ³⁹Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.t

⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.u

The return of the unclean spirit

⁴³When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.v ⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

Who is my mother

⁴⁶While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him.w ⁴⁷Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” ⁴⁸But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.

⁵⁰For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”x